White Flag
by streetcarnameddisaster
Summary: 6 women, unconnected except for one common thread: Elliot Stabler. What will happened when a familiar face reconnects with the squad after a long absence?
1. Chapter 1

"What have you got for us, Doc?" Detective Sonny Carisi inquired.

"Female, early-twenties, blunt-force trauma to the head, deep laceration to the jugular and carotid, raped and sodomized." ME Tobias Burke greeted. "Same as the victim from last week."

Lieutenant Olivia Benson knelt next to the body with a regretful scowl. "Any ID?"

"No ID, just like Jane Doe Number One." ME Burke answered. "I'll know more when I get her on the table but unofficial cause of death, cut throat."

"Spree killer?" Carisi questioned as they walked back to the cruiser.

"Hmm, not a spree killer," Olivia said thoughtfully. She smiled and nudged him playfully. "What are they teaching you in law school."

Carisi ducked his head, smiling bashfully. "Ha, uh, serial killer. Sorry, uh, I was up late."

"Helping Rollins with Jessie?" Olivia remarked. "Is she still sick with her ear infection."

"Poor thing, she screamed all night," Carisi answered, "I know she was in pain."

"Ugh, I remember when Noah used to get them." Olivia said. "I am so glad we're past that stage."

"Looking five in the face." Carisi remarked. "Big age."

Olivia pushed her hands through her hair and sighed. "I know. Where did time go? I swear he was just this little guy yesterday, all small and squishy, needed me for everything. Now he's an actual boy and he's so energetic and active."

"How's things with him and Tucker?" Carisi inquired.

"They're getting along great." Olivia said, pulling the seatbelt across herself. "I think Noah likes having a male figure around. Must be nice not to have only old mom to play with."

Carisi smiled. "Yeah, I know my sister's kid loves having men around. It's just something about us big playthings. We don't say 'stop or ow or don't do that' like mom does."

Olivia chuckled. "I guess so. In any case, it's someone to help with the heavy lifting."

"Noah, when he falls asleep on the sofa?" Carisi teased.

"Exactly." Olivia laughed.

"Alright, Amanda Doe," Detective Amanda Rollins began, "early-twenties female found abandoned down at the docks in Battery Park. Beaten, raped, sodomized, throat cut. No ID, not in the system."

She clicked and changed the screen.

"Holly Doe," she continued, "also early-twenties, raped, sodomized, beaten, no ID, not in the system. Found in an alleyway in SoHo. We have their photos out on all the news stations and online, we have a few foot officers passing out missing posters in the areas they were found in. So far, nothing, not even a crazy psychic claiming she's under water."

Olivia snorted. "Someone's been reading through my old case files. I will say this, he was correct, she was under water-a water pipe. Remember that one, Fin?"

Detective Fin Tutuola grinned nostalgically. "Ah man, what was his name, Christmas?"

"Valentine." Olivia answered.

"Thanksgiving." Fin retorted bemusedly.

"Only after we threw him in jail." Olivia said. She smirked playfully. "He was only right because he was the one who killed her and put her body there."

Carisi and Rollins exchanged amused smiles.

"Sounds like we missed all the fun." Carisi remarked.

"That's the thing about this unit," Fin said, "fun never stops."

"Okay," Olivia redirected good-naturedly, "our Jane Does. Same MO. No DNA found at the scene but presence of spermicide."

"So, killer wore a condom." Fin observed. "That won't do use any good."

Olivia sighed and stared at the side-by-side photos of their victims lying on the ME's table, blue-grey and dead. "We have got to get this son of a bitch before he kills someone else."

"Let me guess," Olivia greeted, "beaten, raped, and throat cut?"

"How did you know?" ME Burke responded with a sad smile.

"What's it Munch always used to say, 'you get the chocolate bunny'?" Fin remarked. "Any ID or bodily fluid?"

"No ID, no sperm present." ME Burke said. "Same as last time." He pulled a sheet over the body. "Sorry, guys."

"Damn it." Olivia muttered quietly. "Goddamn it." She walked off the edge of the pier. "SoHo, Manhattan Valley, Battery Park. SoHo, Manhattan Valley, Battery Park."

"You good, Lieutenant?" Carisi called.

"There has to be a connection, Carisi, there has to be." Olivia stated angrily. "Same MO, same type of woman, there has to be a connection. He likes young, blonde, white women. He dumps them in neglected places but he doesn't stop to make sure they won't be found quickly." She came back to the scene. "Have you checked the surrounding areas for sperm? Maybe he takes a step back and watches?"

"We go over the area with a fine-tooth comb, Lieutenant, I promise you we haven't missed anything." ME Burke assured her.

"I know, I'm sorry," Olivia said quietly, "I promise I'm not questioning your impunity."

ME Burke smiled agreeably. "I understand, Lieutenant. It's frustrating. I promise you have the full support of the ME's office. I'm going to do everything I can to help you guys catch this bastard."

"We have got to be missing something." Olivia muttered as they went back to the car. Her cellphone started ringing. "Hold on. Hello? Yes it is. Is he okay? Okay, I'll be right there." She hung up. "Head back to the station. Drop me off at Noah's nursery school on the way, something's happened."

"Look Noah, there's mommy." Miss Hannah said. "Go see her."

The tearful little boy ran to Olivia and wrapped his arms around her legs. "Mommy."

Olivia picked him up and settled him on her hip. "Hey buddy, tell me what's wrong?"

"I was scared." Noah whimpered.

"Oh what, honey?" Olivia cooed.

Noah buried his face in her shoulder. Olivia squeezed his side playfully.

"Tell mommy."

"I thought you didn't come back for me." Noah said pitifully.

"I'll always come back for you, baby, I promise." Olivia said sweetly. "Just like day before yesterday, just like last week."

"I miss you." Noah squeaked.

"I miss you too, but sometimes mommies and their little boys have to be away from each other for a little while." Olivia soothed. "Mommy goes to work and catches the bad guys so we can have an apartment and food and toys, and you go to school to play and make friends. But I will always come to get you, or I will send Ed to get you, and then I will see you at home."

"But sometimes you don't come home and I'm sleeping when you come home." Noah said quietly, clinging to her tightly. "And I wanted you to read to me and give me my kisses but you're not home until its real, real later and I'm sleeping."

Olivia sat down on the floor and held him in her lap. "Well, how about I read you a story now, and give you your kisses now, that way if I don't get home until it's real, real later, you still got them?" She smiled encouragingly. "Go ahead, any story you want."

Noah trundled over to the bookshelf and grabbed a copy of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. "Read this." He settled in her lap against her chest. Olivia put her glasses on and opened the book,

_"If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll ask for a glass of milk. If you give him a glass of milk he'll probably ask for a straw. When he's finished he'll ask for a napkin..._

Noah was asleep in her arms by the time she finished reading, just in time for nap time. She lay him on his mat and covered him with his blanket. "You fell asleep before your kisses." She pressed one to his soft, warm forehead." She went to the arts and crafts table and found a piece of paper. She took her lip gloss out of her purse and applied some, pressing two kisses on the paper. _Sweet Noah, you fell asleep so here are your kisses. Love, mommy." _She folded the paper and put it poking out from under the mat. "Will you make sure he sees that?"

"Of course." Miss Hannah said with a smile. "He'll be alright."

Olivia smiled over her son. "Yeah, he's gone through worse."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

"We have a break." Carisi announced. "Amanda Doe is Stephanie Foster. Lives in Queens, works financials at Hyrum Fiberoptics. Me and Rollins gonna run over now and get a run down."

"Good, go." Olivia said with relief. "Get her personals, inform the family." She went to her office.

"Ya know, I've been in this unit how long, and I still don't understand what goes through a person's head to make them do something so evil to another human." Carisi remarked as he and Rollins left the squad room.

"I'll tell you what Olivia told me way back when I was greener than leprechaun vomit: 'Don't try to figure it out. You'll never sleep.'" Rollins remarked.

They drove across the East River to Hryum Fiberoptics.

"Has anyone here had a problem with Stephanie, has she filed any complaints, had any filed about her?" Amanda questioned.

"Honestly, we have about four hundred employees and I leave financials to the smarter folks than me," Joey King, the manager of Hyrum Fiberoptics said, leading them through the stark corridors of his business, "I'm more of a heavy-weight meat-head." He laughed quietly. "I'm good for the heavy lifting. Playing Santa Clause at the office Christmas party."

Amanda and Carisi smiled.

"Are there any outsiders that might have a connection? A bank or tax firm?" Amanda continued. "Anywhere she might have come across anyone who she had a problem or had a problem with her?"

Joey King shook his head thoughtfully. "Go talk to Deneen Franklin, she was Amanda's supervisor. She'd have more information on a day-to-day than I would."

"One last thing, can we get a list of all of your employees?" Amanda requested. "We'd like to try and cross reference them, try and see if we can find her killer."

"Of course. I'll have my assistant get the print-outs for you." Joey King agreed. "Come by my office before you go."

"Stephanie was a bright girl, very capable, very smart," Deneen Franklin said, "that's her desk over there; take a look around if you want. She was very private."

"Did she mention at all seeing anyone, you know, a boyfriend, girlfriend, lover?" Carisi inquired.

"She mentioned someone had been bothering her, you know, watching her, keeping an eye on her, but she never mentioned who." Deneen answered. "She was in the middle of telling me but security came in doing a quick sweep. They do routine sweeps with the dog. Ever since the company outlawed drug tests they've had to come up with new ways to search employees for illegal drugs."

"Thanks." Carisi said. "Amanda, anything in the desk?"

"Nothing of merit," Amanda said, "she had a sweet tooth. M&Ms, Butterfingers, Reeses Cups, Malted Milk Balls. I'm surprised she wasn't diabetic."

"Everyone has their vices." Carisi remarked. "Let's go grab those files from King and get back."

"Where's Benson and Tutuola?" Carisi asked Officer Lincoln Mayes, finding the squad room empty.

"Got a call, another victim." Mayes answered. "Same MO, body found in Washington Heights."

Carisi and Rollins exchanged a look.

"We can start going over these names." Rollins said. "Get some of them crossed off. It should be easy enough, she worked nights doing the auditing so we can rule out anyone whose shifts never coincide with Stephanie's. And since she worked nights there's a pretty good chance she never dealt with vendors, banks, tax men, most day shift employees."

"What makes you say that?" Carisi asked.

"Separate entrance for the factory workers. Different parking lot, different break room, bathrooms. Factory floor workers would have no reason to come into the main offices, and a nightshift financial auditor would have no reason to go onto the floor. They don't operate at night so no one's on the floor." Amanda explained.

They worked for the next hour or so crossing off names and highlighting names of persons of interest.

"How many do you have?" Amanda asked.

"Uh, thirty-seven." Carisi answered.

"I've got sixteen." Amanda said. "I crossed off all the obvious ones, factory workers, outside vendors, security, and management. Management doesn't work nights, so, it couldn't have been the lovable meat-head, Joey King."

Carisi smiled. "Good, he seems nice. I'd hate for him to turn out to be a slime ball." He took a sip of coffee. "So he probably did it."

"Statistically speaking." Rollins agreed with a laugh. "Guess Christmas is gonna be late this year."

Fin and Olivia strode in.

"Hey, what's up?" Amanda greeted.

"Beth Doe, early-twenties, raped, beaten, etc etc." Olivia responded. "They're popping up all over Manhattan with no explanation."

"We went to the Stephanie's office. She worked nights so it narrows down the suspect pool a little. But we don't even know if it was someone from work. It could just be an opportunist." Carisi said.

"Well, it's more than we have on Holly Doe or Beth Doe."Olivia remarked.

Fin grabbed his ringing desk line. "SVU, Tutuola."

"How many persons of interest at her place of work do you guys have?" Olivia asked.

"About fifty." Amanda answered dishearteningly.

Olivia sighed and ran her hands over her face roughly. "This is driving me insane."

Fin hung up. "Got a possible ID on Holly Doe."

"Let's go." Olivia said.

"It's her, it's Delilah." Mrs. Gabriel breathed painfully. "It's my daughter." She turned away from the screen.

ME Burke turned the two-way monitor off.

Olivia helped Mrs. Gabriel to a chair. "Mrs. Gabriel, had Delilah been complaining about anyone harassing her or causing her trouble?"

"No." Mrs. Gabriel breathed in disbelief. "She was doing so well."

"Had she had problems?" Olivia asked gently.

"Uh, drugs, for a brief time. Heroin and meth." Mrs. Gabriel answered. "But she got clean and she's been clean for six years. She got a great job. She's been doing sort of an all-encompassing position as a gopher and a secretary. Mostly he digitizes her boss's paper files. She's only been there a few months but she was already being trusted with more and more responsibility." She covered her face and sobbed. "I was planned an Eight Birthday for her."

"Eight?" Olivia questioned.

"It's the funniest thing," Mrs. Gabriel said with a wet laugh, "she was a leap year baby. We always joked that she was years younger than she really was because her real birthday only fell once every four years. By sheer coincidence her sobriety date falls on her actual birthday this year." She wiped her eyes. "We usually celebrated her birthday a day early. Her doctor wanted to record her birthday as February 28th or March 1st, but I wouldn't let him. That's a special date for a special girl."

Olivia touched her arm gently. "Do you know if your daughter new a woman by the name of Stephanie Foster, or maybe Hyrum Fiberoptics?"

"No." Mrs. Gabriel answered. "I'm sorry, no."

"I've gone over Stephanie and Delilah's records, no connections. Stephanie lives in Queens, Delilah lived in Jersey. Only connection is dump sites in Manhattan. And nothing yet on Beth Doe." Fin said.

"I got something." ME Burke said, hurrying in. "We got lucky. Beth Doe, real name: Josephine Bartlett."

"Upper-class name." Rollins remarked. "Does the vic match the name in style?"

"Only barely." ME Burke answered. "Josephine Bartlett, twenty-six, coordinator at Pulaski Foods, a company that sells foods to companies, schools, prisons."

"How did you get the ID?" Olivia asked.

"I swear I had examined every inch of her and I was about to send her out when I noticed a very, very old surgical scar on her right knee. Opened her up, found an implant in her knee from a shatter replacement." ME Burke explained. "Got the serial number, got the ID."

"Burke, I love you." Olivia stated.

Bruke grinned. "Careful, Lieutenant, don't let my head grow too large, I'm already an ugly SOB." He handed her the file. "Good luck. Catch this guy. I'm overworked. I miss Warner."

"Where the hell is she?" Fin asked.

"She's taking a sabbatical. Going to classes at City." ME Burke answered. "Have you guys found a connection yet?"

"So far, you." Fin joshed. "Hey, you gunning for overtime for us all?"

Burke grinned. "You wish it was that easy."

Olivia smiled. "Thanks, Burke."

"See you guys next time." Burke said. He strolled out with a backwards wave.

Olivia looked at her squad and grinned. "Anyone else just wanna eat him up? He's the cutest little guy. I hope Noah grows up like him. Doesn't let the job get to him, still able to smile and joke."

"Speaking of Noah," Amanda said, "I need to call my own sitter and ask about my girl."

"Is she still coughing?" Carisi asked, following her to her desk, "because it might be the croup."

"What's the croup?" Amanda asked.

"Fin." Olivia said. They went to her office. "Stephanie was found in Battery Park but she lives in Queens, works in Queens. Delilah was found in SoHo but she lives in New Jersey, works in Brooklyn. Josephine, found in Manhattan Valley, lives in Brooklyn, works in The Bronx. No connections. They don't go to the same gyms, or the same banks, they run in totally different circles. Stephanie was a quiet, kind introvert. Delilah was a recovering addict doing her best. Josephine we know nothing about at the moment other than job and death."

"We've had these cases before." Fin said.

"And they never get solved." Olivia interrupted. "I refuse to allowed these women to rot in the ground without ever seeing justice. We have a serial killer on the loose who likes young, pretty blonde white women."

"You wanna put out a warning, cause some DC Sniper level tension in the city?" Fin questioned. "Be a run of blondes hitting up the nearest hair color wall at CVS. Finally gonna get to see some fine blue eyed beauty with bright green hair." He cackled and became serious. "We can't solve 'em all, Liv. It's just not possible."

Olivia stared at him determinedly. "I refuse to believe that. Between you and I we have two of the best closure rates in the department. Our unit is under scrutiny to solve these cases and solve them quickly. One victim is too many, three is unacceptable."

Carisi knocked at the door and poked his head in. He made an apologetic face. "Uh, hey Lieutenant, got another vic."

Olivia slammed her palms down on her desk, knocking over a photo of Noah. "Shit!" She looked at Fin. "Let's go. Carisi, I want the employment records of all of the businesses these girls work for. I want you to cross-reference every name, every position, every...every fart. Everything. There's a connection, we're missing it. We're better than this." Her voice broke and she looked away to steady herself. "It will be unacceptable if we don't solve this one."

They went uptown to Washington Heights.

"When I said I'd be seeing you guys soon I was hoping it's because my birthday is coming up and you're all invited to my birthday party." ME Burke greeted.

"Well, we're just here to rain on your parade." Fin responded. "Same as always?"

"Raped, sodomized, beaten, throat slit." Burke answered. "And-"

"No ID, no semen." They all said together.

Olivia knelt over the body. "Who's doing this? Who did this to you?"

"...for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be." Olivia finished singing and kissed her son on the forehead. "Do you know how much I love you?"

"Forever and always?" Noah answered with a shy smile, chewing on the edge of his comforter.

"From here," Olivia said, touching his headboard, "all the way," she went to the window, "to the furtherest star you can't even see."

Noah grinned and pulled the covers over his face.

Olivia gasped playfully. "Where's Noah?" She crept around the bed. "Where's my baby?" She went to the door and crossed her arms in pretend consternation. "Ed?"

Ed Tucker came down the hall. "What's up, babe?"

Olivia cocked her head. "Have you seen Noah? He's about," she held her hand up to her knee, "yay high, yay wide, brown hair, brown eyes, killer smile. Greatest laugh ever?"

Ed pursed his lips and snuck into the room. "Hmm, ya know, I think I saw a person of interest in this case earlier, he was putting Legos in his nose."

They knelt on either side of his bed and shushed each other.

"Maybe...if...I...", Olivia started tickling the lump under the covers, "oh my goodness, what is this?! What's in my baby's bed?"

Noah pulled the covers back, wide grin on his face. "It's me, mommy!"

Olivia looked at her boyfriend with incredulousness. "Found him."

"Right where we left him." Ed said with a smile.

They tucked him back in.

"Maisie brushed her teeth, did Noah brush his?" Olivia asked.

"Yes." Noah answered.

"Maisie washed her hands, did Noah?" Olivia asked.

Noah nodded seriously.

"Alright, well Noah and Maisie are ready for bed." Olivia said.

"To bed, I said, to bed." Ed intoned. "G'night, kiddo."

"Night, Tuck." Noah said in a sleepy, raspy voice.

"Night, buddy." Olivia said.

"Night-night, mommy." Noah said. He snuggled against his pillows and closed his eyes.

Olivia looked at Ed and nodded towards the living room. "Want something to drink?"

"I already popped the cork on a very nice red." Ed answered.

"My man, my man." Olivia sang quietly. She sat down and stretched her legs out. "Oh man, this case, this case."

"Break it down for me." Ed requested.

"I don't even begin to know how." Olivia said.

"Begin at the beginning, keep going through the middle, go all the way to the end, and then stop." Ed joked. He lift her feet and put them on his lap.

Olivia peered at him from under her hands. "I should never have let you watch Alice in Wonderland."

"C'mon, maybe I can help." Ed insisted. "Fresh mind."

"It's just the most impossible case." Olivia admitted.

"Sometimes I imagine as many as six impossible things before breakfast." Ed remarked. He smiled and handed her a glass of red. "Have a sip."

Olivia took a long sip. "The more you drink from a bottle marked poison it's bound to disagree with you at some point." She drained the glass. "This case is bothering me, and not just because of it's intricacies. There's just this strange feeling over it all. Like an ill-wind. Almost reverse Mary Poppins. 'Winds in the east, mist coming in, like somethings happening about to begin'."

"Can't put my finger on what's in store, but I feel what's the happen, all's happened before." Ed concluded. "People often wish for a magic solution to a problem but seldom look for the magic."

"I have four women, none of them connected to each other in any way I can figure." Olivia began as Ed started massaging her sore feet, "each killed the same way, raped and sodomized the same way, beaten the same way. All dumped similarly: neglected areas where someone risks coming across the body but not really. It could have been days before any of them were found, or it could have been as quickly as it happened for each of them. Once he's done with them he doesn't care."

"He has a rage in him." Ed observed. "It's not enough to rape them, sodomize them, humiliate them, he wants them to suffer. If he just wanted power, sex, he's rape them and leave them. If he hated them he'd just kill them after. No, this is something deeper. Slitting their throats so deeply he also decapitates them? No, that's personal. Almost like he'd decapitate them if he could so they disappear."

"But it's only blonde women." Olivia said. "White, blonde women."

Ed stared off into space. "If they had blue eyes I'd almost say is it's Aryan-looking women being killed. Might look for a Jewish perp, or even a self-hating Aryan."

Olivia closed her eyes. "I don't know."

Ed rubbed his hand up her calf. "Prickly."

"Hmm? Oh, that's just my soul." Olivia remarked.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

"I love you, I really do, but I have got to go." Olivia urged laughingly.

"Ah, but you look particularly sexy this morning." Ed insisted. He took her hand and pulled her back to him. "Hair all mussed, skin all shiny. Got that good and you-know-what look going on." He gave her a long kiss, his hands tangling in her hair.

"Ed." Olivia laughed, pulling away. "Lats night wasn't enough? I was four cup gone, I know I was good."

Ed leaned back against the pillows, smiling contentedly. "Good doesn't describe it."

Olivia touched his cheek gently. "Tonight." She whispered, a scintillating promise of what was to come. She ran her hand down his throat, his chest, to the part of him the covers were hiding. "Mine."

"Glad to see you, boss, got two more victims." Fin greeted.

"I know who I was when I woke up this morning," Olivia muttered in disbelief, "obviously I've changed since then." Her spirits fell. "Okay, give it to me."

"Quinn Doe, same age and description as previous victims, same manner of death, same manner of abuse and torture." Fin said. "And Darcy Doe, Greenwich Village."

"Did we get an ID on Lisa Doe from yesterday?" Olivia asked.

Fin shook his head. "We got their employment records and we're running them through a system so look up same names."

"What's the system?" Olivia asked.

"We scan them into the computers, run them through the matching software." Fin said. He motioned to Carisi and Amanda scanning documents into the computers. "It's gonna take a while."

"So we're exactly as nowhere as we were yesterday?" Olivia questioned. "Great."

A young man hurried into the squad room holding one of the missing posters. "Excuse me, this is my girlfriend."

"That's Darcy Doe, Vic Six." Carisi said quietly.

"Her name is Bennie." The young man said.

"And who are you?" Olivia asked.

"Dewey Springle." The young man answered. "I know, stupid name, my parents hate me. Bennie was supposed to be on a work trip but this is her photo on the missing poster."

"Come into my office." Olivia said. "Bennie what?"

"Bennie Lisbon." Dewey Springle answered. "Benedictine Lisbon. Catholic."

Fin wrote the correct name on the board and followed Springle and Olivia into her office.

"Did you get anything from Springle?" Amanda asked, rubbing her eyes with shredded fingers.

"She was a violinist for the SoHo String, had a teaching gig at their school." Olivia said. "Twenty-eight, no former arrest records or drug use. Born and raised in Manhattan. Found behind the courthouses near One PP."

"It's like he's taunting us." Amanda remarked. "Near One PP, near the courthouses? That's our front yard. He's feeling safe."

"He's an asshole." Fin remarked. "And he's bugging the hell outta me."

Isla Perro, Jessie's newest babysitter, pushed Jessie's stroller into the squad room. "Hey, we were in the neighborhood on our way home from Dr. Harper's, thought we'd stop in."

"Hey, baby cakes." Amanda greeted happily, "hey, honey." She lifted her little daughter from the stroller. "Oh, you're all warm and snuggly."

Olivia tickled the baby's soft chin affectionately. "Auntie Livie's missed her sweet Jessie."

"Say, 'we're not feeling too well today'." Amanda cooed in a baby voice. "'My little ears are all sore"."

Olivia stroked the back of Jessie's soft blonde head. She and Amanda exchanged horrified looks.

"We gotta get him." Amanda muttered. "If not for my blonde, blue eyed ass but for Jessie's."

Olivia gazed at Jessie's innocent face intently. "We will."

"Two more victims?" Nick Amaro remarked, the sound of his daughter in the background of his end of the phone, "Jesus, and I thought California was a crime hub."

"It's killing me, Nick, it's absolutely killing me." Olivia said, chopping peppers for dinner. "No, Noah, don't grab the knife. Don't eat the peppers yet, they're raw."

"How's the lil man?" Nick laughed.

"Oh, so big." Olivia answered. She smiled at Noah. "Noah, tell Uncle Nick how big you are."

"So big!" Noah squealed.

Nick laughed through the speaker, a familiar and comforting sound. "I wish I was there with you."

"I do too." Olivia said. "I miss my partner in crime. Many, many crimes."

"So many crimes." Nick laughed.

"We're all mad here." Olivia remarked.

"All the best people usually are." Nick agreed. He chuckled quietly. "Yeah, Zara dragged me to that too."

"I made Ed take me." Olivia said.

"They serve cheese at the Tribeca Multiplex?" Nick teased.

"Some rats learn to adapt to new lifestyles." Olivia said. "Just call him Ratatouille Tucker."

Nick howled with laughter. "You ever tell him you call him that?"

"How do you think I get sexy-sexy started at night?" Olivia joked. "I put a chef's hat on him and let his little friend control everything." They snorted together.

"Jesus, I miss you." Nick said.

Olivia sighed happily. "I miss you too."

"I might come out for a visit soon." Nick said. "Maybe next month, if things work out."

"There's always a spot for you in my unit." Olivia reminded.

"California's letting me grow." Nick said.

"Legal marijuana business." Olivia said knowingly.

"I wish." Nick scoffed. "I'd be swimming in it."

"No, Noah, stop." Olivia called. "Nick, I gotta go. Noah's trying to get into something."

"Yeah, I'll talk to you soon." Nick promised.

"Once a week, like clockwork." Olivia said happily. "My dependable Nick."

"Stay safe, take care of you." Nick said.

"Love you too." Olivia laughed. "Take care of you."

"Work it, baby!" Nick catcalled.

They hung up and Olivia ran after Noah.

Olivia poked her head around the doorway, the squad room was quieter than it had been for the last week and a half. She tiptoed in on her toes and headed for her office.

"Lieutenant." Amanda greeted.

Olivia winced. "So close."

"It's alright." Amanda laughed. "No fresh victims, everyone has been IDed. Victim Number Five, Quinn Doe, real name Samantha Schulenberger. Found in Greenwich, lives on Staten Island, works on Long Island at Mertz Plastics."

Olivia crinkled her brow. "Long Island and Staten Island? She has no Manhattan connection. Everything else match?"

Amanda nodded. "Same knife, same condom brand, same everything."

Ed Tucker walked in. "Liv."

"Ed." Olivia said nervously. "Is Noah okay?"

"Noah is happily banging a bongo drum at music group." Ed assured her quickly. "No, it's your case."

"You didn't find another victim." Olivia said with dread.

"I found a lead." Ed said.

Olivia's jaw dropped and she stared at him in shock. "Tell us."

"I've been looking through the employment documents you've been given." Ed began. "And honestly, I'm not even sure how I caught it, I guess my years of being a paper pusher with a gun helped, but after Victim Three's papers I noticed a name kept popping up: Ashley Palmer."

"Who is she?" Fin asked.

"_He_." Tucker corrected. "Ashley Shannon Palmer, thirty-seven, works for a security firm, Security Veterans Utilization."

Olivia narrowed her eyes. "Security...SVU?...SVU!?"

"I looked into it, he's the same guy at every place. Works security. Different location most nights and days, gets assigned to his post when he clocks in." Ed said. "You have enough probable cause for a warrant. Get his file and any relevant documents from this firm. You should have enough to bring Palmer in for questioning and to search his swelling."

Olivia grinned excitably. "Ed...you've literally made my whole day. Fin, call Barba. Amanda, Carisi, be ready to roll the second we get a warrant." She clapped once and turned towards her office. Halfway she stopped and ran back and kissed Ed firmly. "I owe you some dirty, dirty things later. I love you."

Ed smiled. "I was sick of seeing you so stressed. And I love you too." He put his hands in his back pockets and rocked proudly on his feet. "I'm gonna go play bongo drunks with Noah."

"Tell him 'mommy says hi' and give him a kiss." Olivia requested. "It's our special thing."

"Will do." Ed promised. "See you at home."

Olivia smiled at his back as he left and did a little dance. "Okay folks, it's showtime."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

"I am so eager for this son of a bitch's blood I can taste it." Olivia said, bouncing around in her seat.

"Yeah, but don't pee on the seat, you know the department will never pay to reupholster these fifteen year old Crown Vics." Fin remarked, pushing her down in her seat. "Don't get over-excited, we may not find enough to stick."

"Oh, we're gonna get him." Olivia muttered seriously. "We're gonna get him."

They pulled into the parking lot of Security Veterans Utilization with Carisi and Amanda behind them.

"Okay, search warrants?" Olivia ascertained.

"Search warrants." Amanda said, holding them up.

"You guys go ahead," Olivia said, checking her ringing cellphone. "Fin, supervise." She stepped away to answer the call. "Olivia Benson."

"Come on, guys." Fin said, leading them into the building. He walked up the front desk assistant. "Hey, NYPD, we have a search warrant."

"I'll get the boss." The assistant said. She went off into the back.

"I've been doing some research about this place." Amanda said. "It's legit. A retired cop started it about three and a half years ago and it's been pretty popular. These aren't you average rent-a-cop, these are retired NYPD cops and retired servicemen and veterans. People want the best, this guy gives it to them."

"Well, here's hoping he's as above board as his business claims." Fin remarked. He turned and caught a glimpse of a man's profile reflecting in the glass door and took a step forward. "What the-oh, hell. Y'all run this down, I gotta go and get Liv, we don't need to be here for all this bullshit." He threw his hands aside and strode outside. "Hey baby, let's head on back to Manhattan, let Rollins and Carisi handle this."

"Why?" Olivia asked.

"Tell you in the car." Fin said.

"What is it?" Olivia asked as Fin led her back to the car.

"More like who." Fin said. He started the engine. "Firm was started by an ex-cop and employees vets and retired cops. Owner's a big deal."

Olivia made a face. "It's not Dean Porter is it? He took retirement a couple years ago. He was going to get fired but he resigned at the last second. Apparently he went a little too far with a case and disgraced himself."

"Liv." Fin said seriously. "It was Elliot."

Olivia stared at him emotionlessly.

"Stabler." Fin added.

"I know who you're talking about." Olivia said, sliding her sunglasses on. "I didn't work with him for thirteen years and forget his name."

"Has he ever called since you left?" Fin asked as he started the car.

"No." Olivia answered, staring out of the window. "No, he never called."

The young assistant returned. "Okay, my manager is coming out. He's going to help you guys find the files you need."

"Thanks." Carisi said. He turned to Amanda. "Why did Fin and Liv leave?"

Amanda shrugged. "Maybe they realized we don't need mommy and daddy to help us execute a search warrant?" She nodded towards the young man who walked out from the offices to greet them. "Hey, Detective Rollins, Detective Carisi, we have a search warrant for the employment files on an Ashley Palmer, one of your guards."

"You guys have a search warrant, right?" The young man inquired. "Can't do anything without a warrant."

Amanda held out the blue paper. "It covers everything from paper and digital to person records and professional."

The young man examined the warrant. "Alright, it's all good."

"Who are you?" Carisi inquired.

"Stabler. Richard Stabler." The young man answered. "General manager. My dad owns the place. Told me to handle this."

"Uh, we'll need to speak with him as well." Carisi said.

"Follow me." Dickie requested. "Lauren, can you hold dad's and my calls until everything settles down?"

"So, your dad's the boss." Amanda observed.

"Yeah, he was actually a detective as well, for Manhattan. For twenty years." Dickie answered. "He retired a few years ago."

"What unit did he work for?" Carisi asked.

Dickie turned to them. "Uh, yours, as a matter of fact."

"Your dad was an SVU detective?" Carisi questioned.

Amanda snapped her fingers. "Stabler!" She turned to Carisi. "Liv's partner from way back right before I started was a Stabler. He retired and I took his place."

"I'll try not to hold it against you."

They all turned.

Elliot Stabler strode out of his office and held out his hand. "How are things at the unit?"

Amanda shook his hand eagerly. "Oh, great, you know, everybody's doing well. Solving crimes, making the city safer."

Elliot chuckled and shook Carisi's hand. "Got a new roster down there since I left?"

"There's us two." Amanda answered. "And Fin, and Olivia."

"Munch? Cragen?" Elliot questioned.

"Both of them retired." Amanda answered.

"Who's running the place now?" Elliot asked.

"Lieutenant Benson." Carisi answered.

Dickie nudged his father. "_Lieutenant _Benson."

Elliot smiled mutedly. "That's great. I'm glad the unit's in good hands. She's probably the best person they could have replaced Cragen with."

"Now, you were her old partner, right?" Amanda asked.

"That was me. Thirteen years." Elliot answered.

"Wow." Amanda remarked. "It's cool to meet you."

"Hope you've heard only good things." Elliot said.

"Uh, not a lot actually." Amanda admitted. "Olivia doesn't really reminisce."

Elliot smiled after a moment's hesitation. "Well, why would she? I've been gone for a while now. Probably had loads of partners since then."

"Me, and this guy Amaro who went out to California, Fin for a while. Once she took over she didn't need a partner." Amanda said.

"So, you guys need some files." Elliot said quickly. "Come with me. Dickie is our computer guy, takes care of all the techie stuff. I'm old school."

They went into his office.

"I've got the employment file already pulled for you, and Dickie is going to print out what we have on him as far as his work file." Elliot said. "You can have all of it. Those are the originals. I made copies."

"I'd say you came prepared but then again you probably know better than we do." Amanda said with a smile.

"Well," Elliot shrugged. He sat down behind his desk. "How is Fin? And, Olivia?"

"They're great." Amanda answered. "Liv's really got Fin helping run the place now, he's sort of her right hand."

"They were always close." Elliot said. "She once saved his life when he got shot in a bodega. And was undercover with her in Sealview."

"Liv went undercover at Sealview Prison?" Amanda marveled.

"Yep. Managed to snag the guard who had been hurting inmates and an inmate's civilian daughter." Elliot said. "She never did like to talk about the past."

"Dad, server's down again." Dickie called from across the hall.

Elliot sighed quietly. "We've been having internet problems all week. Our provider is doing some kind of overhaul to the system. Can we run the files to you guys tomorrow morning?"

"Absolutely, no problem." Amanda said.

Carisi gave her a panicked look.

"It's cool." Amanda said, waving him down. "He's one of us, after all."

"Lieutenant isn't gonna like that." Carisi remarked. "Search Warrant's a search warrant. She's say take the whole computer and have TARU look at it."

"Our IT guy is actually a retired TARU guy." Elliot informed them. "Morales. If he was here today he'd have the files for you in a heartbeat."

"You really do recruit the best." Carisi observed.

Elliot shrugged humbly. "I was part of a lot of cases where private security firms, in one way or another, had a part in a crime, whether as the attacker, a subduer, a witness, or a stonewall. I figured, why not use my experience from the department and from the Marines and create a company where we actually give a shit."

"Look, we'll let Olivia know the deal with the computer. She'll be cool with it. Especially if it's you." Amanda said. She held out her hand. "I know I'm talking a mile a minute, it's like meeting your favorite baseball player or something. I mean, we don't hear a lot but you're _Stabler_, you were a big deal in our unit."

"Nah, it was always gonna be Olivia." Elliot said. "She was always the one who held the unit together. Seriously, she left once, went undercover with the Fibbies, she was gone a little less than half a year, and everyone just sort of lost direction."

"She was undercover with the FBI?" Amanda questioned in amazement. "God, she never talks about any of this."

Elliot smiled. "Glad to see she hasn't changed."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

"You did what?" Olivia questioned in disbelief. She came around her desk and went to the door. "Carisi. Now." She stepped aside as the detective trudged in with his head down and shut the door. "You had one job. One. To execute a search warrant. How could you possibly fuck that up?"

"Lieutenant, I thought since he was former NYPD-" Amanda began.

"I don't care if he's former President." Olivia said loudly. "We never leave evidence or potential evidence behind for any reason. We bring it in and we test it ourselves. Did it ever occur to you that we could have just used our own internet service for the computer?" She release a round of harsh hacking coughs into her elbow. "Hold on." She turned her back and coughed so hard it sounded like she might pop a lung.

"You okay, Liv?" Amanda asked.

"Noah brought a cold home from one of his nursery groups." Olivia answered. She took a sip of water from the bottle on her desk. "I'm fine. You're not." She turned to Carisi. "What do you have to say?"

Carisi bemoaned quietly. "I knew I didn't do right, Lieutenant, but ya know, I guess I just caught up. We were just so impressed by this guy. All the stories-"

"I don't care." Olivia stated. She stared them down from behind her desk. "You two screwed up. And if TARU so much as theorizes something was disappeared off that computer, it will be your asses on the line. And whatever respect and care I have for you both will not save you."

Amanda and Carisi exchanged a look. "Sorry." They muttered together.

Olivia sighed and sat down. "The only reason I'm not hanging you out on a limb with One PP is because I know this guy. It's been a very, very long time since we've spoken but he's legit. He wouldn't screw with us or jam us up."

"He was really up front with us, had all the files ready," Amanda said quickly, "hell, he even gave us the original copies of his paperwork."

"You two had better be thanking whatever gods you believe in." Olivia urged firmly.

"We never would have done it if it had been anyone else." Carisi assured her.

"You better never do it again." Olivia said dangerously. "Now go."

They both went to the door.

"Hey, Lieutenant," Carisi said, pulling Amanda back by her sleeve, "did you really go undercover with the Fibbies?"

"And at Sealview?" Amanda added.

Fin glanced up from his desk.

Olivia stared at them for a moment and sighed. "A long, long time ago. Another time, another place."

"What was it like?" Amanda asked.

Olivia looked away. "I'd rather not talk about it." Her desk line rang. "Benson, SVU." She sighed and shoved a hand through her hair. "Okay." She hung up. "Victim number 7."

"You nervous?" Dickie asked, hoisting the laptop bag up his shoulder. "Going back?"

"Not really." Elliot said nonchalantly. "I guess I'm nervous about seeing _her._"

"I can't believe you just left without talking to her." Dickie remarked. "I mean, no judgement, I get you were going through it, but she was your partner for so long. I can't really even remember a time before Olivia was your partner."

"You could have stayed in touch." Elliot suggested. He locked the car. "Let's go. They're probably waiting for this before their next move."

Down the block the door to the station house flew open and they watched as the two detectives from the day before hurried out.

"Rollins and Carisi, right?" Elliot greeted. "Computer."

"Hey, thanks, that's cool, uh, take it on up into the squad room, Fin'll help ya out." Amanda said quickly. "We gotta go, got another victim. It's actually the second one today."

"Palmer worked last night." Elliot informed them.

"Maybe you could hang around, we could talk to you for a few, about Palmer?" Amanda requested.

"Sure." Elliot agreed. He watched them get into their squad car and peel off. "God, I don't miss those days. Frustration mounting, more victims, a suspect still acting."

They turned to head inside but Elliot froze.

"Dad?" Dickie questioned.

Olivia with her face buried in a tissue, tucked into her coat, stepped outside onto the sidewalk, cellphone to her ear. "Make sure he's taking his medicine, whatever this is it's nasty. I can feel my throat growing fur and claws." She lifted her key-fob and unlocked her personal vehicle. "I'm gonna run to the pharmacy and pick up some Robitussin or something." She slid in the driver seat and was gone.

"She looks good." Dickie observed. "Age has definitely been friendly to Olivia Benson."

Elliot smacked him upside the head. "Hey, that's not cool."

"Admit it, dad," Dickie teased, "bet you're missing it now."

They went inside, waited through security, and got escorted upstairs.

Fin looked up from his paperwork and tssked. "Man, what are you doing here?"

"Hello to you too." Elliot greeted.

"They still have messenger services." Fin remarked in annoyance. "Helps with those moments when you're the most unwelcome person in a room."

"Hey, uncalled for." Elliot insisted. "Kiss my ass."

"There's enough of it." Fin retorted. "Is that the computer?"

"Yeah." Elliot said shortly. "I took the liberty of hand-delivering, that's not worth at least a handshake?"

Dickie lifted the strap over his neck and handed it to Fin. "It's all in there, charger cord and everything."

"You've gotten older, man." Fin remarked, shaking the younger man's hand. "How's life?"

"Doing well." Dickie answered. "Almost finished up with my Bachelor's, gonna help dad run the business."

"Cool. Cool." Fin remarked. "I'll voucher everything, make sure you get it all back."

"No rush, I've got my back-up at the office." Dickie said. "Hopefully you don't need that one?" He chuckled. "It's just my personal laptop but it's good enough for a couple of days."

"Nah, I have a good bet this one's good enough." Fin said.

"Those other two detectives asked us to hang around, they wanna talk to us." Elliot interjected. "Can we just hang out, or...?"

"Tell you what," Fin said inhospitably, "why don't you just leave your number, go take a walk. I'll have Rollins or Carisi call you, they can decide where to meet. Far as I'm concerned, you don't need to be here."

Elliot stepped up to him. "You got a problem?"

"I suggest you take a step back." Fin said. "You ain't got a shield to protect your ass now."

The two men stared each other down.

"Give me a reason to regret not having that shield anymore." Elliot said in a low voice.

"I will jam your considerable ass up." Fin warned. "You need to leave before Olivia gets back. She don't need your bullshit on top of everything we're dealing with now."

"Olivia's a big girl, think she can handle herself." Elliot growled.

ME Burke came in and froze. "Uh, should I come back?"

Fin turned to him. "Nah man, we cool. What you got for me?"

"DNA." Burke said with pride. "Guess the condom broke on Victim 7, Lucy Doe."

"Match in the system?" Fin questioned.

"No match but find me a suspect and I can do a comparison." Burke said. He looked between the two men. "You sure everything's okay?"

"It's all good, man. I'll let the Lieutenant know." Fin said. "Thanks. Hey, if you're here who's down at the scene with Victim Number 8?"

"Sarah Doe? Oh, one of my assistants. I figured you'd rather here about the DNA from me." Burke answered.

"You're right." Fin agreed. "Thanks. Let us know about Sarah Doe."

"Oh, Lucy Doe-Number 7-she's been dead and in her dump spot at least two weeks." Burke added. He checked his phone. "This is my assistant ME, says Sarah Doe is fresh, killed within the last six to ten hours." He gave a backwards wave and strode out.

"Eight victims?" Elliot questioned.

"I can't talk to you about it and you know it." Fin warned. He grabbed his phone and dialed Barba. "Hey, it's Tutuola, anyway you can get us a warrant for some DNA?"

"You look like death warmed up." Carisi remarked.

"Haha, thanks." Olivia said sarcastically. She opened the bottle of cough medicine and took a long swig from the bottle. "I miss when you could buy codeine cough syrup over the counter. I could use a little extra something."

"Got news." Fin said. "Burke came by. DNA left behind on Lucy Doe."

"Is there a match?" Olivia asked eagerly.

Fin shook his head. "But Barba's working on a DNA warrant for Palmer."

Olivia's shoulders drooped. "It's something. At least it's something." She coughed quietly.

"Does Noah look as bad as you do?" Fin questioned sympathetically.

"My poor little guy is currently asleep on the sofa under three blankets with Paw Patrol in the background." Olivia said, showing Fin the picture text from Lucy, her nanny. "Lucy said he lost his voice. I better check on Ed, make sure he's not sick."

"How'd he manage to get your germs?" Fin teased.

Olivia stuck her tongue out at him. "Mind your own beeswax."

"Man, up your's." Fin retorted with a smile.

"Remind me to bust out the photos of you I have from your first year." Olivia said teasingly. "Ponytail and three piece suits? They need to know the player king is in their presence."

"Yeah, alright." Fin said with a smile. "Forgot how mean you get when you're sick. Gonna do me like that? I was stylin'."

"Is that what you call it?" Olivia remarked. She rolled her eyes and grinned. "I'll be in my office, fielding calls from One PP. Let me know when the warrant comes in."

"Hey," Fin called, "ME Burke looked all sorts of disappointed when he realized you weren't here."

Olivia stared at him from the doorway of her office, trying not to smile. She shut the door before she burst out laughing.

Fin returned to his desk. "You're still here?"

Elliot rose from where he'd been sitting just inside the hallway. "Rollins asked me to wait."

"You're a stubborn bastard." Fin remarked, turning away.

"Can I poke my head in and say hi to Liv?" Elliot requested.

"No." Fin said stiffly. "Doubt she'd remember your ass anyway, after all she's been through and done since you left her."

Elliot knelt next to him and lowered his voice. "I didn't leave her."

Fin glared at him. "Yeah? Well you sure as hell left."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

"What's your personal opinion on Palmer?" Amanda asked.

"He's quiet, hard-working." Elliot said. "Insisted on working nights at industrial-type places. Said he was a night owl."

"And he was in the Rangers before he was a cop in Boston." Carisi read off the files.

"I think there was some drama there," Elliot admitted, "he never really wanted to talk about it, but he got honorable discharges, and an honorable retirement from the Boston PD, so I let it go. I figured he just had some bad experiences, didn't want to press it. Tried to remember it wasn't my job to follow up on a feeling."

"He has a few disciplinary records." Amanda said.

"He was habitually late his first few months. Got caught sleeping a few times on the job." Elliot said. "There was an incident a few months ago, he almost got jammed up on an assault charge."

"Tell us about that." Carisi requested.

"He was doing a patrol one night and he heard someone and when he went to investigate he swung first, asked questions never. Turns out it was just a night-time office employee who got locked out of the main building and let herself in through the back. Cops let him off with a warning to be more careful since he was just doing his job."

"Do you remember the woman's name?" Amanda asked.

"Delia, Celia, Lila, something." Elliot answered. "Sorry, it was a few months ago."

"Delilah?" Carisi supplied.

"Could be." Elliot nodded. "Sounds about right."

"One of the victims is a Delilah Gabriel. Worked at Spence Plastics." Carisi said.

"We do security for them." Elliot said. "Probably the girl he mistook for an intruder."

"Is there anything else about him that might mean anything?" Carisi asked.

Outside Olivia stepped up to the two-way mirror and stared inside, brow furrowed. It was as close as they had been to each other in almost eight years. She turned the volume up on the control panel next to the window. Fin joined her.

"...there was one day he came in, last week I think, had a huge scratch around his hand. Said he was dog-sitting, got scratched." Elliot said. "Any of the Vics have defensive wounds?"

"Beth Doe had signs of defensive wounds but no DNA under nails." Fin murmured to Olivia. "Burke said in his report that there were signs she had been sanitized after her death."

Olivia furrowed her brow. "He's an ex-cop, ex-Ranger, he'd know about DNA left behind."

"Man, why's the asshole gotta be an ex-Ranger." Fin bemoaned. He made a face. "Hold up. I gotta go check something." He ran off.

Olivia turned back to the window. It felt like the world was off-kilter, seeing her ex-partner on the other side of the interrogation table. With a sigh she turned off the voice box and walked away.

She heard a raspy, young cough as she entered the squad room and looked up at her office door. "Noah." She grinned and opened her arms. "Noah, my little man."

Noah ran to her and she hoisted him up. "Hi, mommy."

"Oh, sweet boy." Olivia murmured, holding his warm little body against herself. "What are you doing here?"

Lucy came out and greeted her with a smile. "He woke up and he insisted on seeing you. I figured the cool air couldn't hurt so we came over."

Olivia settled him on her hip. "I'm sick as a dog, Noah."

"Me too." Noah said.

"Maybe I should come home and we could be sick together." Olivia suggested with a smile.

Noah grinned and nodded. "Oh, yes."

"Oh, yes?" Olivia laughed. She gave him a kiss. "My sweet boy, you're so warm."

"My head hurts." Noah said. "My froat hurts."

"You sound like your froat hurts." Olivia said. "Is he taking his medicine?"

"Reluctantly." Lucy answered.

"There are some M&Ms from Halloween in the cabinet, he can have a few if he takes his meds." Olivia said. She smiled and bounced him gently. "Would you like that? Would you like some Emmy-m's?"

Noah grinned. "I want some emmy-m's."

Olivia gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek. "Then you have to take your medicine." She dipped him backward, sending him into a loud peel of giggles.

"It's yucky!" Noah squealed.

"But it's good for you!" Olivia declared cheerfully, swooping him up and holding him tight. "It's gonna make you feel better." She tickled his sides until he was laughing silently and wiggling.

Carisi and Amanda led Elliot out of the interrogation room and stood in the doorway watching Olivia and her son. Elliot's mouth opened slightly in surprise.

"Hey, who is that?" He asked quietly.

"Oh, that's Noah, Liv's little boy." Amanda answered. "He's been like a big brother to my little girl, Jesse. Liv's like an aunt."

"Liv had a baby?" Elliot asked.

"Adoption." Amanda answered. "He was a trafficked victim in a case several years ago when he was a baby. Liv kept on his case and the judge asked if she's be willing to foster him. It took a while and she almost lost him a few times, but she adopted him officially a couple years ago."

"He's beautiful." Elliot said quietly, watching his ex-partner express more joy than he'd ever seen from her. "They look good together."

Olivia set Noah down with a sigh and massaged her lower back. "Okay, sweetheart, mommy has to get back to work."

"No!" Noah insisted, wrapping his arms around her knees.

"Play."

"I want to play with you, bubba, but I have to get to work." Olivia said soothingly.

"Come home and see my new Legos." Noah begged.

"I've seen them, I bought them." Olivia laughed. "I'll play with you later tonight."

"Promise?" Noah asked, gazing up at her with his big, brown eyes. "Promise, promise?"

Olivia knelt in front of him. "I promise." She held up three fingers on her right hand in a salute. "Scouts Honor."

Noah smiled and repeated the gesture. "Okay."

"Kiss." Olivia requested. Noah pecked her on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." Noah said. He looked up at Lucy and took her hand. "I'm sleepy."

"You can take another nap when we get home." Lucy promised.

"Thanks for bringing him by." Olivia said. "I feel better already." She watched them go with a smile that faded as they got further and further away. "I should be used to the guilt by now."

"He knows you love him." Fin soothed. "Barba got us the warrant for Palmer's DNA but we've got an issue."

"My office." Olivia said. She looked up and froze.

Their eyes met across the squad room and suddenly there was no sound, no talking, no phones ringing. Nothing and no one else existed.

Elliot smiled softly and lifted his hand in greeting.

Olivia blinked, her face blank, and she looked away before turning and following Fin into her office.

Elliot's hand dropped slowly and his smiled faded. He swallowed the lump in his throat and pulled his coat on. "I gotta get back to work. Call me if you need anything else."

"Thanks." Amanda said, staring at him questioningly, having seen the silent exchange between them, and their subsequent reactions. "And if you should have anything for us, give us a call or stop by."

"Yeah." Elliot said quietly, staring for a moment at the office door and it's gold plaque, "Lieutenant Olivia Benson". He felt a rush of pride. "See you around."

"You think Palmer might be the wrong person." Olivia said.

"No, I mean, I think someone may have stolen his identity." Fin said. "I mean, his DNA didn't pop? He's an ex-cop, a veteran. His DNA would be in the system."

Olivia made a face. "You have a point." She steepled her hands and pressed them against her lips. "So, who is he then, if he isn't Ashley Palmer?"

"It's one more thing for us to figure out." Fin said.

"Great." Olivia muttered. "As if we don't have enough to figure out."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

"Stabler?" Ed questioned. "You're kidding."

"No, as if this case needs anymore intricacies, gotta throw him into the mix." Olivia remarked, handing him the clean plate and grabbed a dirty cup.

"How long has it been since you last saw him?" Ed asked, dying everything she handed him.

"2011." Olivia answered. "Almost eight years."

"Did you guys speak?" Ed asked.

Olivia shook her head. "Why would we? Rollins and Carisi are the lead detectives. I don't have time to talk to every witness or person of interest. I spend most of my time talking to One PP these days." She glanced at Noah playing in the living room. "Hey, are you feeling okay? Noah and I both have this crud pretty badly and you've been here through all of it."

"I feel great." Ed said with a smile. "I guess I'm immune." He kissed her on the cheek. "You gonna take care of me if I get sick?"

"Hmm, what were you thinking?"Olivia purred in a low voice. She dried her hands and wrapped her arms around him.

"Little nurses costume." Ed crooned. "With the little hat thing. Maybe some cute little knee-high socks, high heels?" He ducked his head down and gave her a kiss. "You can let the patient take _your_ temperature."

Olivia giggled quietly. "Lord almighty, I feel my temperature rising."

"I'm your hunk-a hunk-a burning love." Ed said.

"Mommy, your phone!" Noah called. He swiped right. "Hello?"

"Noah, bring that to mommy." Olivia requested.

"Hi, Uncle Fin." Noah said brightly. "Washing dishes with Ed. He's her hunk-a hunk-a burning love."

Olivia swooped down and grabbed it. "Fin?"

"_He's your what_?" Fin questioned.

Olivia winced in embarrassment. "Uh, nothing, we were joking around, Noah didn't hear the whole conversation. What's up?"

"I did a search on Ashley Palmer." Fin began. "I found a missing person's report for a Ashley Palmer that matches our guy's DOB and service record."

Olivia sat down on the sofa. "Tell me."

"Went missing two years ago out of Boston, just after a medical retirement." Fin said. "The missing Palmer got shot in the line of duty and was given a meritorious release. He went missing about three weeks later. I spoke to Boston PD who think he may have killed himself. Apparently he was being treated for PTSD and the shooting added to that."

Olivia sighed. "What are we thinking, our guy killed him and stole his ID or just picked an unlucky identify to steal?"

"Right now, who knows." Fin said.

"Okay, we have a photo of our guy from his employee file. Fax that up to Boston and have them take it to the family, see if they might recognize him. Maybe they knew each other."

"Will do." Fin said.

"Anything else?" Olivia asked.

"I'll let you know." Fin said. "Hey, make sure you have a fire extinguisher handy if you and your hunk-a hunk-a catch fire."

"So, where are we on Palmer-Not-Palmer?" Olivia asked, entering the squad room with renewed determination.

"Rollins and Carisi are going to his home now to bring him in for questioning and his DNA." Fin answered. He smiled playfully. "Did y'all burn the apartment down last night?"

Olivia choked on her coffee. "Ha-ha-ha. No, as a matter of fact the only thing that burned was Ed's forehead at three am when he woke up coughing and stuffy. Now we're all sick."

"Better not give it to me." Fin warned. "I _will _kick a five year old's ass."

"Hey, he's not five yet." Olivia laughed. "We're having a party for him next week, will you come?"

"Are you kidding? Miss a chance to have a cheap-ass Carvel and some burgers? I wouldn't miss that shit for the world." Fin answered. "Tell Lil Man his Uncle Fin gonna get him the best present ever."

"Nothing too crazy." Olivia requested.

"So, no lawn darts?" Fin remarked. He grinned. "Does he have a bike yet?"

"He has a tricycle." Olivia answered.

"Imma get Lil Dude a bike." Fin declared. "A shiny red one with a bell."

"And training wheels." Olivia laughed.

"Nah, see, with kids you gotta do the swimming pool training and throw them in." Fin said.

"I think I see why Ken has his resentments." Olivia remarked.

Fin laughed. "I'll let you know when Palmer gets here."

Olivia went to her office and settled at her desk. When she opened her emails there were already seventy-one waiting for her response. She sighed and scrolled through the senders.

_ 65 _

She stared for a moment before deleting it without reading it. She sat back with a sigh and jumped sky-high when her desk line started trilling. "Lieutenant Benson."

"Hey, Liv," Carisi greeted, "the apartment was a no-go. Looks like he hasn't been there in a while."

"Damn." Olivia muttered. She leaned against her hand. "I don't know what to do."

"I've got an idea." Carisi said. "Rollins and I have been discussing it and we wanna run it past you."

"Okay." Olivia said, reasonably pleased with her detectives for a change, "shoot."

"Uh, we'll talk to you when we get back." Carisi said.

"Okay?" Olivia said uncertainly.

"Undercover." Olivia said emotionlessly. "You want me to go undercover."

"It's a great idea," Rollins said quickly, "you'd be right there, we'd get him without a doubt. Since we can't get him from the outside, we gotta get him from the inside."

Olivia sighed quietly and took her glasses off, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Guys..."

"Look, Stabler said you used to be an ace at undercover." Carisi interjected.

Olivia gave him a look. "I'm, frankly, uncomfortable with you two getting all chummy with him. Stop making friends."

"C'mon, Lieutenant." Rollins implored. "This is the only way."

Olivia looked away. For a while they were all quietly sat, listening to a new rain fall outside. She thought about all the times before, deep undercover, when her life suddenly hung in the delicate balance. _Gonna have some fresh repressed memories to discuss in therapy, _she thought to herself. She inhaled loudly. "Fine." She got up and turned to the window. "Call Stabler and clear it with him."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

_He's still got that ass, _Olivia thought, observing her former partner from the doorway of his office. _And I've still got those feelings._ He hadn't heard her yet, it would be so easy to turn around and run away. The exit was right there, a few feet to her left, the cruiser parked right next to the handicap ramp, it would be so easy. But it would be spitting on the memory of the murdered women, women who would never get justice if she let her own feelings rule her decisions.

She knocked softly on the door.

Elliot Stabler, older but the same Elliot Stabler, stood up from where he was bent over a filing cabinet behind his desk with his back to her. His lips parted slightly and his blue eyes stared into Olivia's own brown.

For a long, painfully long time, there was silence.

Dickie Stabler brushed past Olivia with an armful of documents, "dad, I need for you-", he looked back at Olivia and grinned, "Olivia."

Olivia grinned emotionally. "_Dickie_?" She laughed wistfully. "You're a man now."

Dickie grinned roguishly. "And you're just as hot as always." He wrapped his arms around her and they embraced as though almost a decade hadn't passed. "It's so great to see you. How've you been?"

Olivia sniffled loudly. "I can't believe I'm crying. Look at you. You're taller than me."

"I'll always look up to you." Dickie assured her. He grabbed a Kleenex off his dad's desk. "So, how's the case going?"

Olivia wiped her eyes. "Uh, that's why I'm here, actually. I've got something to discuss."

"I'll leave you to it then." Dickie said. He turned to his dad. "Those papers, I need your signature before close today." He slipped out and shut the door.

Olivia turned back towards her old partner.

"Uh, you wanna...sit?" Elliot offered awkwardly. He motioned at one of the chairs in front of her. "You want some water or something? I've got a Keurig."

"I'm good." Olivia said quietly. She sat down and crossed and uncrossed her legs nervously.

Elliot meandered around his office for a moment, befuddled and a little irritable, before sitting down. "Sorry."

"No, I am." Olivia said quickly.

Elliot grabbed his coffee cup and took a sip, missing his mouth and spilling all over his pants. "Ah, Jesus."

"Is this a bad time?" Olivia asked.

"No." Elliot muttered, grabbing a handful of tissues and dabbing his lap. "Shit. I have a change of...", he looked up at her. "What can I do for you?"

"My unit-uh, the unit-uh, you know what I mean-we want to put someone undercover in one of your locations." Olivia said in a jumble.

"I just supply the manpower, I don't have a say over who the businesses employ." Elliot said.

"We were thinking you'd be the intermediary between us and them." Olivia explained. "Your company being the link with everything."

"What do you want me to do?" Elliot asked.

"Call up one of the companies, tell them, I don't know, tell them the fraud unit is investigating some mismanagement of money and they connected it to one of your guards and the police department wants to put a unit undercover in their company in order to catch them." Olivia said.

Elliot stared at her without giving away his mind.

"It's better than saying you have a rapist and murderer working for you." Olivia stated.

"Fair enough." Elliot agreed.

"There isn't anything fair about this." Olivia muttered, looking away.

"I'll give a few of the businesses a call, see who wants to be the target, and assign Palmer to them. I'll give you a call when it's set up, you can get your team ready." Elliot said.

"We're ready." Olivia said.

"Is it gonna be Rollins?" Elliot asked. "Small and blonde, probably a prime Palmer target."

"It's gonna be me." Olivia said.

Elliot stared at her with his brows raised. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Olivia answered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The first three nights at the first three businesses amounted to nothing. If security was doing patrols through the building they never came around. Olivia rest her chin against her fist and stared absently at the dark computer monitor. She felt inside of her knee high boot for her combat knife, having been unable to fit her off-duty gun inside.

She got up and stretched, moving to the door to peek around the frame. The hallway, dark, except for the intermittent sconces, was quiet. She moved silently down the hall towards the employee lounge and flipped the light on.

She grabbed a K-Cup and filled the back container with water. Stifling a yawn while the machine whirled and gurgled, she leaned against the counter and closed her eyes.

"Hello."

She stifled her jump and turned. "Hi." She smiled politely.

The pockmarked man in his thirties stepped into the room, hand on his Glock."I heard a noise. I'm Palmer, security. What are you up to?" He stepped closely. He had stale, tobacco breath, and watery dull-brown eyes. He smiled, revealing a broken canine and stained, yellowed teeth, a cavity visible on the front-most molar.

Olivia hid her disgust and smiled sweetly. "Just making some coffee. Long night. Lots of reports."

"I've never seen you before." Palmer said. he grinned and looked her over like she was a bakery counter and he had free reign.

"I'm new." Olivia chirped. "Just got hired." She continued smiling.

"Oh yeah, what do you do, New Girl?" Palmer asked in a dangerous voice that would have been charming if he hadn't been a murdering psycho.

"Night Auditor." Olivia answered. She held out her hand. "Rachel Martin."

Palmer shook her hand. "Ash Palmer. Call me Palmer."

"Nice to meet you, Palmer." Olivia said. She dropped her hand. "Want some coffee?"

"Cream, two sugars." Palmer directed. He sat down and thumped his booted feet up on the table, scattering old mud and dog shit on the surface. Around the sole a dark red crust stained the cheap, cracked leather.

Blood.

Olivia hated turning her back but kept calm, grabbed another mug and K-Cup. Mechanically she maneuvered around the kitchen, finding cream in the fridge and sugar in the drawer next to the sink. She handed him the first cup. "Hope it's good, I prefer a French press."

"I prefer Irish." Palmer said with a wink. He took out a flask and poured some of the dark contents into his class.

Olivia smiled and grabbed her mug. "Well, I gotta get back. If I don't have those reports done, I don't wanna think about it." She stepped towards the door. "Well, stay safe. Have a nice night."

"See you later, _Rachel._" Palmer said. He stepped into the hall and watched her walk away.

Olivia turned the corner calmly and once out of view she ran back. She took her radio out of her desk drawer and pressed the speaker. "Contact made, advise location."

The radio crackled. "Carisi and Rollins responding, we're parked two blocks over on Pearl. Everything good on your end?"

"He's a creep, no doubt about it." Olivia responded. "He had dirt on his boots...and what looked like blood."

"Keep us advised, Lieutenant." Carisi said.

Olivia sat for a moment and had a brainwave. She drank down her coffee and made her way back to the lounge. She hit the lights and looked at the mess on the table. She grabbed a paper towel and fished an evidence baggie out of her boot, next to her knife. She brushed some of the dirt and dried red crust into the baggie, sealed it, and marked it, sliding it back in her boot.

She washed her mug out and hung it back up.

She returned to her desk and grabbed her radio. "Carisi?"

"Copy, Lieutenant." Carisi responded.

"I've got an evidence bag with dirt and what looks like blood." Olivia said quietly.

"Can you get it out to us?" Carisi asked.

"Come around and I'll try." Olivia said. "Park near the warehouse, flash your lights when you see me. Get it straight to the lab."

She grabbed her coat and made her way down the hall, listening for footsteps. She pushed the exit doors open and stepped into the courtyard. She felt oddly surrounded and imagined that somewhere in the depths of the building that creep was watching her.

She stepped through the gates and made her way down the sidewalk and around the corner. There was a 24 hour bodega and she saw the unmarked patrol car parked in front of it. They flashed their lights and came down to meet her.

"Tagged and bagged, get it to the lab." Olivia directed. "I want to know as soon as possible if anything pops."

"Is there anyway you can get a fluid sample?" Rollins asked. "Maybe off a cup of a tissue or something?"

"He didn't leave his mug." Olivia said. "But the trash was empty in the lounge so if he uses a paper towel or a tissue for anything and throws it away I'll try and grab it. I have a couple more bags in my boot."

"We'll get this right over." Rollins promised. "Stay safe, radio if you have any trouble. If we're not back there's a couple sector cars patrolling and they'll come right over."

"Thanks, Amanda, Sonny." Olivia said. She nodded towards the store. "I'm gonna grab something, have a backstory for having left." She went into the store and bought a sandwich, and returned to the warehouse.

"Welcome back." Palmer stepped out of the shadows as she reentered the building. "I was worried."

Olivia held up her bag. "Just wanted a bite." She smiled and brushed past him. "See ya later!" She hurried back to her office and lazily flipped through an old copy of Reader's Digest she'd found. The night was looking to be long and boring, but at least she had gotten something.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elliot hung up the phone and started putting his coat on. Dickie watched him from the doorway.

"You going down there?"

"I'm gonna go by the squad-room, see if they have an update." Elliot answered. "I'd like to be able to send a nice, calming email to the various businesses who keep us in business."

"And you're worried about Liv." Dickie added.

"I mean, she's undercover with a murdering rapist, of course I'm worried." Elliot said. He grabbed his wallet and car keys off the desk. "Lock on up, I'll be home in a little while."

He went out and got in his car.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Olivia's head drooped from where it was perched against her hand and she jerked herself awake. Yawning she checked the time on her watch, 3:17am. She wiped her chin and stood. Her body was stiff and achy from being in the same position for an extended amount of time.

The lights clicked off.

"What the-". Olivia muttered. She grabbed her cellphone and pressed the lock screen button. Illuminating a face in the dark, she screamed and dropped her phone. "Holy shit!"

The man pretending to be Ashley Palmer laughed in the dark. "I've been waiting for you to wake up,...Olivia." He turned his Mag Lite on and shone it in her face. "You sleep beautifully."

Olivia leaned away from the burning gaze of the light. "Christ."

Palmer knelt and stared into her eyes. "Did you really think you could fool me?" He rose and turned the lights back on. "You NYPD cops are all nothing but a bunch of shit-heads."

Olivia glowered up at him. "It's over."

"It's not over until I say it's over." Palmer growled. "Think about it, an NYPD _Lieutenant_ raped and murdered on her own investigation. Hmm, at least you'd die a hero."

"I have no intention of dying today." Olivia stated. She rose slowly, her hands extended in front of her in the prone position. "Let's talk about this."

"Talk?" Palmer spat. "Talk? You've been a cop for what, twenty-five years, and you think we're gonna talk?"

What's your real name, tell me that, at least." Olivia requested. "Because I know you're not Ashley Palmer."

"My name is Tyler, Tyler Hendricks."

Olivia nodded and slowly sat down on the desk. "Did you kill the real Palmer?"

Hendricks scoffed. "Why would I tell you?"

"We both know I'm not getting out of here alive." Olivia breathed. "You said it yourself. I'm not a fool, and I'm betting that since you were able to evade us for so long, even involving a retired NYPD detective, that you aren't either. We both know how this ends. You could at least gloat a little." She smiled sweetly. "I'm actually really impressed."

Hendricks did a take and looked at her skeptically. "Really?"

Olivia extended her hands out to him, an incredulous smile on her face. "Are you serious? You managed to kill six women without leaving a single strand of DNA or physical evidence at the scene. That's remarkable." No sense in telling him they had his DNA, they had the debris from his boots, no sense making him angry. "I haven't seen that kind of criminal genius in years!"

Hendricks smiled smugly. "Kinda cool, huh?"

Olivia beamed, shaking her head slowly. "So, so cool." She steepled her hands together. "You have to tell me how you managed it all. From Palmer all the way...". She slid her hands slowly across the desk behind her and grabbed her cellphone, thanking the gods she'd never set up a password. Muscle memory guided her to the recording program.

Hendricks grabbed Olivia's empty chair and sat down. "I knew Palmer." He nodded. "He arrested me back in Boston. He was fucking nuts, Olivia, I swear to God, he was in-fucking-sane."

"He was a soldier. A baby-killer." Olivia said, feeling a twinge of guilt for besmirching a war hero.

"I know." Hendricks agreed. "Man, he'd be sitting in interrogation with me and just start staring into space. He was crying. Crying! Can you believe it?"

"PTSD." Olivia said. "He was weak."

Hendricks grinned eagerly. "I did not bank on you getting it. But you do. God, that's great."

Olivia nodded slowly. "I understand. God, after my whole life on this job, of course I understand. I mean," she laughed and flipped her hair over her shoulder, "I get the urge." She nodded intently. "Oh, trust me. I know enough, I could kill anyone without leaving any trace of evidence."

"Palmer picked me up with this dredge from below the bridge." Hendricks continued. "Like, seriously? She was no one, what did she even matter? All I was doing was roughing her up a little, getting what I paid for. That psycho sonofabitch interrogated me for twenty-four hours, really roughed me up. The whore wouldn't talk so they let me go. But Palmer, he just wouldn't let go. He followed me, he kept an eye on me. He stayed on me like a degenerate shadow. Everywhere I went, he was there."

"You had to do something." Olivia breathed. "Tell me."

"I had him follow me to this warehouse area, near the docks." Hendricks leaned forward. "Do you play video games at all?"

"I'm afraid not. Not enough time." Olivia answered.

"There's this one, it's this zombie-post apocalyptic game and part of it is set in Boston and you're chasing this guy what owes you money and he'd down by the harbor, it really does look just like it in the game. It's crazy. I waited for him. I knew he'd follow me so I waited for him. I showed him the broadside of a 2x4. Beat him until he was pulp. Purple and pulpy, like smashed grapes. But he was still alive. I guess he was a tough SOB. So I emptied my revolver into his skull, threw his body in the river, watched him get carried downstream. Gone. Poof. I'm betting some fucking sea shark or whatever ate his ass when he reached the Atlantic." He sat back with a self-satisfied grin.

"That's amazing." Olivia said. "It takes a real genius to make it all work. How did you manage to become Palmer?"

"It was easy, took his license, his social, his insurance card." Hendricks explained. "It's not really all that hard to steal someone's entire identity. I mean, even a cop, soldier, or government official. Most jobs don't do an in-depth background check, see, they just get a written document. Photo ID is hardly ever part of any civilian-sector job. I mean, I couldn't have joined the Secret Service or the military, that would have given up the game, but strictly speaking, jobs like these, security, night auditor, whatever, its as easy as submitting a resume. If your resume doesn't have any red-flags then you're fine. A quick Google search confirms most everything and there's never usually a photo. Bonus points if the name is relatively usual, Facebook and Instagram won't be definitive ends."

"So, you really are a genius at loopholes." Olivia remarked. "Can I ask you a question? Why rape them, why kill them, why torture them?"

Hendricks shrugged. "Because they're women. Because they exist. Because."

"But, that's not really an answer." Olivia pressed. "Were you rejected one too many times or something? Were you abused by a woman when you were younger? What? Why?"

"You know what, shut up." Hendricks snapped. "You don't know anything. This whole time I thought, 'maybe she gets it, maybe she understands, maybe she's actually decent', this whole time you've just been trying to pin me down."

"I really want to know you." Olivia insisted.

"Oh, fuck off, Olivia!" Hendricks barked. "Abused? Me? Rejected? Hell yes I was rejected. Every single time. Everything. Military, police academy, college, my girlfriends, my moth-...". He fell silent. "Why is it so bad that I just reach out and take what I want? I tried to do it right. I tried to be a good person, do the right thing. It's bullshit and it's nothing!" He started pacing. "You know what, stop talking. Just stop talking. Nothing you say is gonna fix this. You're just like the rest of them." He kicked a trashcan across the room.

Olivia hopped off the desk and made for the door. Hendricks grabbed by by the hair and slammed her against the door frame.

"You're not going anywhere, Olivia." Hendricks growled in her ear. He dragged her back and threw her on the floor. "You're even worse than the rest of them. You're a cop. You think you're so powerful. You think you know everything. You think you're gonna define me?! Figure me out?! Fuck you, bitch. No, the only thing you're gonna figure out is how bad I'm gonna hurt you before I cut your fucking throat!" He lunged at her and wrapped his hands around her throat.

Olivia rolled hard and knocked Hendricks against the desk. She hopped up and reached in her boot for the knife. Hendricks reared back and kicked her in the stomach. Olivia grunted and fell on her back, the knife scattering.

Hendricks grabbed it. "You think you can take me?!" He flicked the knife open and slashed her in the ankle, then deeper in the same ankle. Olivia shrieked and lobbed a foot in his direction, meeting his jaw. For a moment Hendricks was down and Olivia bound up and threw open the office door.

She got ten feet before Hendricks, recovered, tackled her, slamming her head against the floor.

"Stupid cunt." Hendricks muttered. He jabbed the knife into the fleshy part of her thigh three times.

Olivia wailed and threw her elbow back, pegging him in the chest. He rolled off and she scrambled to find her footing. Hendricks grabbed her ankle, Olivia reared her captured foot back and kicked him in the face.

Blood spattered everywhere as Hendrick's nose broke. The man wailed out but rose off the ground. Olivia ran towards the exit she knew was just down the hallway to the left with Hendricks hot on her tail.

Hendricks grabbed her around the middle and they danced around trying alternatively to free and fight. Hendricks pinned Olivia by her back to the wall and open-hand slapped her across the face so hard she thought her neck might have broken. Having kept hold of the knife during her assault, he jabbed it into her belly. Olivia forced her knee between his leg and brought him to his knees. She kneed him in the chin and ran for the exit, clutching her side.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hell are you doing here?" Fin greeted unkindly.

Elliot shrugged defensively. "Came to see if there's an update."

"Man, you know we can't tell you that. You're not a cop anymore." Fin stated.

"Any word from Liv?" Elliot asked. "Can you tell me that at least?"

Fin sighed. "About two or three hours ago she radioed from inside, apparently she had some kind of evidence. Rollins and Carisi ran it to the lab. Liv told them to wait until it had been run."

"Is anyone there with her?" Elliot asked. "Does she have a team waiting in case she needs anything?"

"Patrol cars in the area but other than that." Fin said. "She didn't want a team, said it would be noticeable, might screw things up."

"Is she supposed to be checking in?" Elliot asked.

"She's been texting every so often." Fin answered.

"How long has it been since her last message?" Elliot demanded.

Fin checked his phone. "Three hours." They glanced at each other. Fin pressed the telephone icon and put the phone to her ear. He glanced back at his former coworker. "No answer."

"I'm going down there." Elliot stated. "You're coming with me."

Fin grabbed his coat and keys and they ran for the elevators.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She heard him coming but didn't look back. She saw the exit sign glowing at the end of the hallway and ran as fast as she could. Hendricks, fast behind her, reached in his utility belt where his pocket knife bounced against his hip. He flicked it open and reached out, grabbing a handful of Olivia's hair. He jerked her back and pressed the knife against her throat.

"Aw, bet you thought you'd get away from me?" He growled in her ear. "I was hoping you'd be alive when I had you but as long as you're warm and dead I don't have a preference. Either way, you're not participating. This is my game." He pulled the knife across the left side of Olivia's neck.

Olivia felt her skin slicing and blood flowing and screamed. She threw her whole body backward, knocking Hendricks and herself to the floor. She pulled herself up and reached for Hendrick's knife. She stabbed it deep into his leg and started running, her head hurting, her neck burning, her whole body throbbing in pain. She felt the cold metal of the doors against her hands and pushed them open.

Cold air rushed over her as she stumbled into the courtyard.

In the distance she heard sirens getting louder and louder. She ran out on to the sidewalk and watched as the squad-car came around the corner. It came to a screeching halt and Fin jumped out.

"Fin!" Olivia called. She ran to him. "I got him, I got him! He's inside. He's injured but he's still alive!"

Fin gave a start when he saw Olivia's bleeding neck and found a tissue in his pocket. He pressed it to the wound. "I've got more officers on the way. I'm gonna call you a bus." He turned to the car. "Yo, call a bus, she's injured!"

Olivia slumped against him, her adrenaline making her feel sick and shaky. "Who's with you?"

"Elliot." Fin answered.

Olivia stepped back, her face indignant. "You brought a civilian to an active crime scene?!"

"He was worried." Fin said with a shrug.

Three patrol cars came to a screeching halt in front of the courtyard of the warehouse. They swarmed the building with guns drawn.

"Fin, go, I'm fine." Olivia insisted. She gasped. "My cell phone! It's in the office. I recorded him admitting to everything!"

"I'll get it." Fin said gently. "Go sit down. You did good, Liv, you did good."

"I'll take her." Came a calm voice behind them.

They turned. Elliot emerged from the car and took his jacket off. "Come on, Liv." He came to her and draped his coat over her shoulder. "You need to see a doctor for that neck, it's bleeding pretty bad."

The ambulance came to a stop behind the squad car and Elliot hurried her over.

"Where are you hurt, Lieutenant?" One of the EMTs called.

"Stab wounds and defensive wounds." Olivia said, gasping as she hopped into the ambulance. She looked down at Elliot. "You can go now, I'm fine."

"Liv-", Elliot implored.

"I'll be alright. Go." Olivia said.

The medics slammed the back doors shut and pulled away from the curb with a wail of the siren.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

There was a bright light shining in her face.

"_It's too bright, she's trying to wake up."_

The light went away. Olivia blinked slowly. "Ugh, what happened?"

Fin's face came into focus. "Hey, there you are." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't try to move."

"What happened?" Olivia groaned.

"You started bleeding pretty heavily when they got you in the ambulance." Fin explained. "You had to have surgery. One of the stab wounds-the one to your abdomen- hit something, your spleen or something."

Olivia gasped. "Did you get him?"

"We got him." Fin said gently. "I found your phone, we got the recording you made. He's at Bellevue in the prison ward. You got some good shots in, Liv, broke the SOB's nose. But you got him. Even if it goes to trial and he doesn't take a plea he'll probably be convicted. We have the knife he used, we have his DNA, we have his confession. We got him. You got him."

Olivia lay back and closed her eyes with a soft sigh. "Good." She opened her eyes. "Where's Noah?"

"Ed's got him." Fin answered. "He drew you a picture. Noah, not Ed." Fin pointed at the wall where he'd taped the picture.

"Aw." Olivia murmured with a smile. "My boy."

"I'm taking care of things for you down at the squad." Fin added. "You're gonna be in here at least a day or two more, then they want you on sick leave for a while."

There was a knock at the door and a doctor in a white coat came in. "Hi, Olivia? I'm Dr. Grant, how're you feeling?"

"Sore." Olivia answered.

"You will be for a while." Dr. Grant said sympathetically. "I can't tell you how honored I am to be treating a real hero."

Olivia blushed and waved him off. "It's just my job."

"You took a serial killer and rapist off the streets, that's pretty heroic." Dr. Grant disagreed. He perched on the edge of the bed. "Most of your stab wounds were superficial but a couple on your thigh were deep enough that we had to put staples in to repair them. The others we either stitched or put wound glue on them. As for the wounds to your abdomen, well, they were more severe. A couple arteries were mangled and one hit your spleen. We had to to remove it."

"My spleen?" Olivia questioned. She lay back with a groan. "Is that bad?"

"You can live without your spleen." Dr. Grant assured her. "I'll give you some literature on life without it but ultimately you won't notice the difference. You'll recover in about six to eight weeks. I want you homebound for at least a month, and desk duty for another four to six."

"But I'll be alright?" Olivia asked.

"You'll be alright." Dr. Grant said. He smiled. "Alright, any questions just page your nurse." He left them.

"I'm gonna go." Fin said. "Let you get some rest." He gave her a gentle hug. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye." Olivia said. She watched him go and suddenly felt incredibly tired and drifted back into sleep.

When she woke a few hours later Noah and Ed were quietly sitting by her bedside as Ed read Noah a book.

"Hi." She smiled.

"You're awake." Ed remarked. He closed the book. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." Olivia answered. She smiled at Noah. "Hi, sweet boy. Can mommy have a kiss?"

Ed held Noah over her and Olivia gave him a tiny kiss. "Tell mommy you love her."

"I love you." Noah recited. "Get better. You see my picture? I drawed it for you."

"It's so good." Olivia said. She held her arms out. "I can take him. It won't hurt on this side." She settled Noah against her left side and pressed her face again his sweet-smelling hair. "For a moment there, I didn't think I was gonna get out of there alive."

"I hear you put up a really good fight." Ed said with pride.

"I did what I had to do." Olivia dismissed. She felt woozy. "I'm gonna fall asleep again. I need some medicine, I'm hurting."

"I'll page the nurse, you just rest." Ed said. He smoothed her hair back and gave her a kiss. "I'll be here when you wake up."

Olivia fell asleep with a smile on her face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Spring shone its lovely head over New York and with it took away the icy cold trap winter had left them with.

Elliot emerged from the subway into the sunshine. Across the street children had taken over the park once again and their delightful screaming had filled the streets.

His business having not suffered from the fallout of having a recently convicted rapist and murderer working for him was booming and he had a meeting at a small Lower East Side security firm to talk about buying them.

He stopped at a cart on the corner to buy a bottle of water and a hot dog. A little boy with brown curls was running around on the other side of the wrought iron fence and hid behind a large tree, peering around a grinning.

Olivia jumped out from behind the tree and grabbed him, both of them falling to the ground in a bellow of laughter. Olivia pressed kisses into her son's rosy cheeks, her smile wide. He'd never seen such unfiltered happiness on her face. Even when they were partners her joy was always guarded and muted.

Not anymore.

She had moved on and created a new life for herself, and had gotten everything she wanted. And it was more than she had ever been able to do when he was there. He knew when he left it would be hard for her, and based on the multitude of messages she left him it had been, but in order for his own self to heal and grow he had to make a clean break, and that included her.

As much as it hurt, it included her her.

"Go get Ed, can you get Ed?" Olivia said to her son. She released him and hopped up, smiling after her son. She smoothed the grass off of the back of her and looked up.

They're eyes met and everything that had been there was still there. Between them a shared history passed, all of the best and worst of it. All of the damage they'd caused, all of the hurt. And all of the good, the good moments sandwiched in between.

Olivia's smiled faded slowly and her face became emotionless and impassive, neither angry or happy, sad or joyful. Her eyes moved to her left, where her son was playing and she turned and walked away from him, towards them, her new life.

Elliot realized in that moment that they'd never be able to move on together, and that as much as he wished they could, he didn't want to. Two broken halves can't make a whole, nor can they repair each other. They could only exist in the same space as two broken pieces becoming their own pieces.

He turned and continued up the sidewalk, and continued with his life.

The End.

_Thanks everyone who has stuck with this story since the beginning. This one was a pain and pleasure to write. A pleasure because it had been an idea in my mind for so long, but a pain because I knew there wasn't going to be the traditional happy ending. That said, this has been one of my favorites, and I can't wait for everyone to read my next SVU story. Thank You!_


End file.
